Scottsdale Warrant Search: How to Check and Quash a Warrant

How Do I Check for a Scottsdale Warrant?

If you think there might be a warrant out for you in Scottsdale — maybe you missed a court date, forgot to pay a fine, or just got a bad feeling after a call from the court — the worst thing you can do is nothing. A warrant will sit on your record indefinitely and can turn a routine traffic stop into an arrest. The good news is that checking for a Scottsdale warrant is usually straightforward, and resolving one is a defined process. This page explains how to search, what the result means, and how to fix it.

Most warrants handled by the Scottsdale City Court come out of misdemeanor cases — DUI, shoplifting, disorderly conduct, traffic matters — where someone missed a hearing or fell behind on a payment plan. If you were recently taken into custody, our companion guide on what happens after you are arrested in Scottsdale walks through the booking and first-appearance side of things. This article focuses on the warrant itself.

The fastest way to run a Scottsdale warrant search is to look up your own case through the Scottsdale City Court’s online case search. On the court’s website, use the “Find a Case / Make a Payment” tool at eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/Court/case. Search by your name or case number to see whether you have an open case and whether a warrant has been issued on it.

If you cannot find your case online — some matters are not fully searchable, and a brand-new warrant may not appear immediately — call the court directly. The Scottsdale City Court can be reached at 480-312-2442. You can ask whether you have an active case and what the next step is. The court is located at 3700 N. 75th St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251.

How Do I Search Court Records Statewide?

A Scottsdale case will not always be the only thing to check — you may have a matter in another Arizona court, or you simply want to confirm nothing else is outstanding. For that, use the Arizona Judicial Branch’s free Public Access to Court Case Information lookup at apps.azcourts.gov/publicaccess/caselookup.aspx. This statewide tool covers 153 of roughly 180 Arizona courts, so it captures the large majority of city, justice, and municipal courts in one search.

For Superior Court matters, cases filed on or after July 1, 2010 are available separately through the eAccess system at eaccess.azcourts.gov. Between the Scottsdale case search and the statewide public access lookup, most people can confirm whether they have an open case and a warrant without ever calling anyone.

Bench Warrant vs. Arrest Warrant: What’s the Difference?

When you check your case, the warrant you find is usually one of two kinds. Both authorize your arrest, but they arise differently, and knowing which one you are dealing with helps you understand what comes next.

What Happens If You Miss a Court Date in Scottsdale?

Missing a criminal court date is the most common way people end up with a warrant. If you fail to appear at a scheduled hearing, the court may issue an arrest warrant, and any existing payment agreement on your case is voided. That alone is a serious setback — but under Arizona law, failing to appear can also be charged as its own separate crime.

Under A.R.S. 13-2506, Failure to Appear in the Second Degree, knowingly failing to appear as required on a misdemeanor matter is itself a criminal offense — a class 1 misdemeanor under subsection (A)(1) or a class 2 misdemeanor under subsection (A)(2). For felony matters, the more serious charge of Failure to Appear in the First Degree under A.R.S. 13-2507 can apply. In other words, skipping court does not just create a warrant on your existing case; it can add a brand-new charge on top of it.

What Are the Fees and Other Consequences of a Warrant?

Beyond the legal exposure, a warrant carries direct costs. The Scottsdale City Court assesses a warrant fee for each warrant that is issued, and losing your payment agreement can put the full balance of your case back in play.

How Do You Quash a Scottsdale Warrant?

To quash a warrant means to ask the court to cancel it. In most cases, you generally must appear before a judge to have the warrant quashed, and you may have to post a bond first. The mechanism is a motion to quash the warrant — a request filed with the court that puts your case back in front of a judge so the warrant can be lifted and the underlying matter reset.

A motion to quash can be filed at the Scottsdale City Court during regular filing hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If a bond is required to quash your warrant, that bond must be posted in person at the Scottsdale City Court. Because the details vary by case — whether a bond is set, how much, and how quickly you can get in front of a judge — this is the point where having a Scottsdale criminal defense lawyer handle the filing and appearance makes the biggest difference.

Are There Walk-In Hours to Quash a Warrant?

Yes — and this is one of the most useful things to know. The Scottsdale City Court allows walk-ins to be seen only for motions to quash a warrant. You cannot walk in for just anything, but a warrant is the exception. Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30–11:30 a.m. and 1:30–4:30 p.m.

That means if you discover a warrant, you have a defined path to be seen by the court without waiting weeks for a scheduled setting. Keep in mind that if a bond is required, it must be posted in person at the court, so plan to handle both steps at the courthouse. If you are trying to help someone who has already been taken into custody rather than resolve a warrant before arrest, our guide on how to get someone out of jail in Maricopa County covers bonding from the other direction.

What Should You Do If You Have a Warrant?

The single most important thing to understand is that a warrant does not go away on its own. It will not expire, and ignoring it only increases the odds that it is served at the worst possible moment — during a traffic stop, at the airport, or during any contact with police. The safest path is almost always to resolve it deliberately rather than wait to be arrested.

A practical sequence looks like this: first, confirm the warrant through the Scottsdale City Court case search or by calling 480-312-2442. Second, talk to a defense attorney before you appear — especially if the underlying case involves a missed court date, because a failure-to-appear charge under A.R.S. 13-2506 may be in play and what you say in court matters. Third, file or bring a motion to quash and appear during walk-in hours, posting any required bond in person. Handled this way, many warrants can be resolved in a single trip to the courthouse, with the underlying case reset for a proper hearing.

Because the details — bond amounts, whether a new charge is added, how the underlying case is postured — turn on the specifics, this is exactly the kind of situation where a short call to a lawyer saves time and risk. Tamou Law Group answers 24/7 and offers a free consultation.